Bitcoin and Ethereum Beat Every Major Market in July as Chip Stocks Crash

For most of 2026, the story was simple: AI stocks up, crypto down. July flipped the script. Bitcoin and Ethereum posted the strongest monthly returns of any major asset class, while the trade that carried global equities all year came apart.The scoreboard for July:AssetJuly performanceEthereum ($ETH)+20%Bitcoin ($BTC)+9%Russell 2000-3%Nasdaq 100-9%Chip stocks-22%The odd part is that almost nobody in crypto felt like they were winning. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index sat at 28, firmly in "Fear" territory, on the same day Ethereum was printing a 20% month.How did Bitcoin and Ethereum actually perform in July?Ethereum entered the month around $1,600 and traded near $1,920 by July 29, a gain of roughly 20%. ETH price USDBitcoin started July near $60,000 and changed hands around $64,200 at the end of the month, up about 9%.BTC price USDNeither move was a straight line. Both assets pushed higher after a softer than expected US CPI report in mid July, wobbled when spot Bitcoin ETFs snapped a week long inflow streak with a single day of $225 million in net outflows, then recovered again once Washington paused airstrikes on Iranian military targets and geopolitical risk premium came out o...